Supreme Court Rejects Bright-Line Test For Intellectual Disability

Supreme Court Rejects Bright-Line Test For Intellectual Disability

WASHINGTON — A closely divided Supreme Court on Tuesday struck down Florida’s strict IQ cutoff for determining inmate eligibility for the death penalty.

In a 5-4 ruling, the court concluded that the state’s rigid IQ cutoff of 70 “disregards established medical practice” and creates the “unacceptable risk” that an inmate with intellectual disability might be executed in violation of the Constitution.

“Our society does not consider this strict cutoff as proper or humane,” Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote.